UDA

British Govt Legal Advice on UDA roadblocks

Orwellian legal advice on UDA roadblocks from 1972 Advice note from Ministry of Home Affairs dated 22 August 1972 (by this date the duties of this Ministry had been taken over by the Northern Ireland Office) which seeks to retrospectively justify UDA roadblocks which were frequent throughout Belfast and elsewhere in the summer of 1972. The advice note states that...

Loughrey family lodge complaint with OPONI

Sara Duddy, Derry News, | 27 November 2017

How can someone be a suspect in four murders but never be arrested or questioned by the police? How can you be named on the Police National Computer as being wanted for questioning for these murders, yet travel freely around the UK, even reportedly running a bed and breakfast in Scotland? These are...

Weapons and Shooting Statistics (added May 2018)

Official memo on weapons seized on both sides of the border between 1969-1976 with a breakdown of types of weapons and a summary of key seizures. The information was supplied by the RUC Data Reference Centre which carried out intelligence analysis under the aegis of Special Branch. This February 1977 memo highlights the involvement of republican and loyalist organisations in...

De-proscription of unlawful organisations (added May 2018)

Declassified 1974 NIO discussion doc on de-proscription of UVF and Sinn Fein. The juxtaposition of Sinn Fein (as opposed to the IRA) with the UVF tells us much about British government attitudes to loyalist paramilitary organisations. At the time the UDA remained legal and it would be another 18 years before London finally accepted that the UFF was nothing more...

UDA membership of the UDR

Security forces and the UDA

One MoD memo from November 1972 titled 'Security Forces and UDA' instructs that operations 'should be directed against their criminal extremist elements whilst making every endeavour to maintain good relations with law abiding citizens in the organisation.' The RUC apparently had similar instructions. Vigilante type patrols should be tolerated…